Themes:
- recruiting staff into the NHS
- volunteers in the Accident and Emergency Department
- volunteers with disabilities
Health Awareness and Promotion
Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust is an acute hospital based on two sites and drawing patients from three local authorities; Sefton, Knowsley and Liverpool. There are currently 670 volunteers drawn from all over Merseyside. The volunteers range in age from 16 – 85 and are approximately 70% female and 30% men. 90 volunteers at Aintree have some form of disability.
Recruiting Staff into the NHS
Aintree is an area of high unemployment and works closely with the Employment Service and Connexions to encourage people into volunteering, with the expectation that a significant proportion of these volunteers will use their experience to find paid employment within the Trust. The Volunteer Service runs initial interviews for groups each month, where information about volunteering within the hospital is made available through presentations, a video clip from a feature on BBC’s Look North West and discussions with staff. Volunteers then complete an application form, the volunteer service takes up references to screen potential volunteers, and then interviews individuals to decide where they would be best placed in the hospital. A volunteer is expected to make a minimum commitment of four hours per week, preferably at the same time and day each week before they are accepted as a volunteer at Aintree Hospitals.
Once a volunteer has worked 100 hours in a reliable and committed manner they can receive help from the Volunteer Management Team to complete their NMAS (Nursing and Midwifery Admission Service) Application and receive coaching in interview techniques. The Volunteer Scheme and the School of Health Studies work together to recruit for nurse training and in five years 470 volunteers have been accepted on to nurse training within Aintree Hospitals. In addition 267 volunteers have found paid employment within the Trust in various roles.
Volunteers in Accident & Emergency
There is a regular group of volunteers who work in the A & E Department, particularly with people waiting with major injuries. These volunteers ascertain from staff who is able to drink and in turn offer tea to patients and relatives waiting with them. The volunteers will make phone calls on behalf of patients – perhaps to ask a neighbour to collect a child from school or let the dog out, and will inform staff if they think a patient’s care is being affected. This might include, for instance if a volunteer asks the volunteer to phone someone to take them home as they are fed up waiting. The volunteers pay particular attention to people who are waiting on their own, and will listen out for names being called for those patients who are unable to hear. The staff direct volunteer activity at all times.
Volunteers with Disabilities
Almost 15% of the volunteers at Aintree have some form of disability and the volunteer scheme has successfully received ESF (European Social Fund) funding to appoint two Development Co-ordinators – one to work with disabled people to promote diversity in the volunteer workforce and one to share the role of the Voluntary Services Manager as well as work with the local community. Volunteers with disabilities have taken on a number of roles, which include contributing to health promotion work within the hospital by ensuring that leaflets and other information are available and that stands and notice boards are replenished as necessary. Disabled volunteers also help the hospital to hold public events on site at Aintree, such as Stroke Awareness Day, Men’s Health Week, Bowel Cancer awareness etc.
Community Involvement
As well as sharing the role of the Voluntary Services Manager the second Development Co-ordinator works with the younger age groups, i.e. 14 – 19 year olds. The scheme is working in partnership with 66 schools across the Merseyside area, promoting the benefits of volunteering and developing awareness of the many careers available in the NHS. Aintree has a well established and extremely successful work experience scheme which is also managed by the Volunteer Department. The scheme provides one or two week placements for students who are wanting to join the NHS as a career or for those who are unsure of exactly what area of the NHS they would like to work in. This is a great way of students having a taster of hospital life to see if it really is for them. Approximately 300 students per year are given the opportunity to carry out work experience at Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust.
